Jayne holds a Masters of Arts in Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and is an E-RYT-500. She been a leader in the field of post-modern dance and aerial dance for 40 years and has been seen flying through the air throughout the country with her aerial dance company, Air Dance Bernasconi. She is the co-author of Aerial Dance with Nancy Smith. With a love for movement, Jayne cross-pollinated aerial dance and yoga to invent Aerial Yoga in 2002. Aerial Yoga was piloted and introduced at the International Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder, Colorado.
A prankster at heart, Virginia Warwick first started performing, creating characters and storylines while growing up in Frederick, Maryland. In high school one could spot her on the streets handing out free cheese dressed as the infamous “Professor Cheese”. Growing up she grew to love wildlife and nature, evident from her past history of pets, which included everything from quails to guinea pigs. While earning her degree at University of Maryland, College Park, she gravitated towards performance art and sculpture.
Tavish Forsyth (He/Them) is a queer improviser, educator, and word technologist.
Tavish helps learners Decode the Script, create Improv Drama Clubs, and establish Writer's Rooms. He helps educators in supporting community-focused theatre. Tavish is based in Baltimore City, which is the ancestral land of the Piscataway people. He is the founder of Bird City Improv and a teaching artist with MSDE's Centers for Creative Classrooms.
Carrie Carter (no pronouns) lived most of childhood unable to speak to others outside of the home due to a debilitating anxiety condition called Selective Mutism. Folding paper became a method of grounding, mindful, meditation; a way to block out anxiety and enjoy comforting silence of mind and body. During that time, Carrie also began her journey as a storyteller, writing fictional stories, letters to penpals around the world, and proofreading articles for her journalist father.
Aaron Maybin is a 34 year old contemporary artist, educator, community activist, and former professional football player from Baltimore Md.
selected as the 11th overall pick in the 2009 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills as a former All-American defensive end at Penn State University. Aaron went on to play in the NFL for the New York Jets and the Cincinnati Bengals in a 5-year career before making the decision to walk away from football to pursue a career as a professional artist, activist, author, educator, and community organizer.
Brooke Mazurek is a screenwriter, journalist, and editor whose work has appeared in publications including the New York Times, Vanity Fair, NPR, GQ, and Variety. She previously served as the Senior Features Editor for Harper’s Bazaar and as a Senior Associate Editor at Billboard.